


Never Too Late

by Mrsmcgraw90



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adult Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:35:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27460555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrsmcgraw90/pseuds/Mrsmcgraw90





	1. Chapter 1

It was late one morning. Olivia walked down the hall of the university with books slung in a backpack over her shoulder. She had English Lit next and that meant she was meeting up with her bestie. Emma was popular on campus. It was hard not to be for her. She was tall and thin with pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes. They had been friends since elementary school. And because of Emma, Olivia had made it into the in-crowd. Liv was more average compared to her best friend. She was a little shorter than Emma with crimson hair and green eyes. Sure she was pretty but she wasn't bombshell gorgeous. But looks weren't the only things that separated the two of them. Emma was a die-hard Christian. Olivia was more into Wicca. Emma was an extrovert to Olivia's introvert. But even with their differences, they had stayed friends over the years. All through school and even went to the same university. They shared a dorm room out of sheer luck. 

Emma was standing over by the vending machines. She was in a tongue lock with one of the football guys. Olivia didn't know which one he was. Just that he was pretty good looking. Olivia sauntered over and tapped her friend on the shoulder. "We need to get to class or we will be late." Olivia took studies seriously. Emma was coasting through classes barely making passing grades. She was more into parties and social life. Olivia couldn't blame her for it. 

Emma smiled as she stepped away from the guy. "Until next time cutie." She smiled before turning to Olivia. "Liv you have got to kiss more guys and put yourself out there. I think you just need to get laid just once. Then you will see." She joked as they walked towards the English building. 

"I'll pass. I am perfectly fine the way things are now. You get around enough for the both of us."

"Come on. You are pretty enough to at least get with guys here. Is there not one that catches your eye?"

"Not really. I'm just trying to keep my grades up so I don't drop my GPA."

"You have straight A's. You are always studying and doing your little witchy rituals. I bet that's why you are really so smart." Emma joked. 

"You know I am here on scholarship. I can't afford to fail or I lose it."

"Yeah, I know."

Olivia heard popping coming from the quad as they got closer to the open area. She just figured it was dumb jocks with fireworks. It wouldn't be the first time they played with tiny explosives in the public setting. But it wasn't until Emma stopped in her tracks that Olivia realized what was really going on. In front of them was a guy holding a gun and it was pointed right at them. Emma's face had gone ghostly white and Olivia instinctively reached over to grab her hand. The guy was yelling something but Olivia was so scared she couldn't make out the words. He moved closer and Olivia heard what he was asking.

"Do you believe in God?" He asked his gun pointed at Emma's face. Emma simply nodded, her hand going up to hold the cross necklace around her neck. "Then go meet your god." He spoke before pulling the trigger. Olivia watched in shock as her best friend's body fell to the ground next to her. But she didn't have a chance to react before the gun was pointed at her own face. "What about you? Do you believe in God?" He asked.

Olivia could barely get her voice higher than a whisper when she responded. "No, I'm Wiccan." She braced herself for the shot that she knew was going to come but it never did. The guy stalked away off to find his next victim. 

Olivia stood there in shock for a moment, her whole body shaking with the fear that coursed through her veins. After a minute she let out the breath she was holding and dropped down to the ground to pull her friend's lifeless body to her chest. Blood was starting to cover her clothes and skin but she didn't care. Emma had been the only person to truly care about her for years. And now she was gone. 

Olivia didn't know how long she sat there holding her friend against her before someone came and found her. Tears streamed down her face as two hands grabbed and tried to pull her away. "No, leave me." She said trying to shrug the guy off. 

"Come on you have to get out of here before the guy comes back. You can't save her now. She's gone." The guy pried Emma out of Olivia's arms and pulled Liv to his chest in a hug. "Come on let's go." He said pulling her along and out of the quad. 

She had no idea how long and far they walked before they were met by police who pointed guns at them. Both Olivia and the mystery guy put their hands up to show they weren't dangerous before they were pulled behind the line of cop cars. Olivia was still in shock when someone wrapped a plastic blanket around her and pulled her over to an ambulance where an EMT looked her over. The mystery guy stayed closeby not wanting to leave Olivia alone. 

"I don't even know your name," Olivia spoke finally looking at the guy.

"My name is Liam." He gave her a reassuring smile. 

"Olivia." She responded in kind.

A police officer came over and looked at Olivia. "Who's blood is that?" He asked trying to get straight to the point.

"My friend Emma. The guy with the gun killed her."

"He killed her but not you? Why?"

"He asked if we believed in God. She said yes I said no. He shot her and walked away."

"So you think it had something to do with religion?" The officer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know that's just what happened. Did you get him?" 

"Yeah, we got him. Just trying to make sense of things."

"How many did he kill?" Liam asked with his arms crossed.

"At least seven. We haven't searched the whole campus yet, but that's our current count."

"Can I go back to my dorm? I stay on the north side of campus."

"We haven't cleared the dorms yet. The campus is on lockdown." The officer spoke looking back at her.

"I just want to take a shower and go to bed."

"I stay off-campus, you can come back to my place and shower and change." Liam piped in.

Olivia nodded as her phone in her pocket started buzzing. She reached in and pulled it seeing her mom's name on the caller ID. She sighed and answered putting the phone to her ear. "Mom?" SHe asked tears welling up in her eyes.

"Are you alright? The news is going crazy about a shooter at your school." Her mom sounded frantic.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But Emma isn't. She's gone, mom." Olivia could feel the tears leaving hot streaks down her cheeks. "I can't talk right now. I've got to go for now."

"Do you want me to come to get you, sweetie?" Her mom asked sounding worried. 

"Yeah. I'll send you an address when I get somewhere safe. This guy offered me a clean shower and a place to go for the time being."

"Okay, just be safe I will see you soon."

Olivia left with Liam on foot to his car the next lot over. She sat silently in the passenger seat as he drove them to his apartment. Once there he got her some clothes of his own and a clean towel and left her in the bathroom alone. It was a small room but it would work for what she needed. She left the bloody clothes on the floor as she stepped into the steamy shower. She just stood under the water for a few minutes before she actually started scrubbing the blood from her skin. SHe couldn't make herself clean enough. Her skin was turning pink from the excessive scrubbing. With a sigh she left the shower and dressed quickly, wrapping her hair in the towel to dry. Liam offered his bed to sleep in until her mom got there. He stayed in the living room watching the news. She could hear the droning voiced from the room with the door shut. It took a few minutes but she finally drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The days following the shooting was like a blur. The school campus was shut down following the death of a total of ten students all Christian. There were shrines set up at the main school entrance. Olivia hadn't even been able to drive by there. She had decided to stay home with her mom instead of going back to her dorm when they cleared them. She wasn't ready to see all of Emma's things on her side of the room. 

A week later was the funeral. Emma's parents were very cold towards Olivia, not hiding the fact that they thought she should be dead like Emma was. Olivia thought it was unfair but she couldn't blame them. She thought she should be dead too. Emma was a good person. A little misguided sometimes but generally good at heart. It wasn't fair that she had to die like that. 

Olivia got into video games to try and escape the hurt that she was feeling. Even streaming to try and turn a little profit from her new hobby. Eventually, she did make it back to her dorm. She was never assigned a new roommate so she got the whole place to herself. Emma's older sister was the one to come by and pack up all of Emma's things in the dorm. Olivia helped her pack everything up and then watched her leave. That was the last time she ever saw or heard from Emma's family. They completely shut her out. She fell into a bout of depression drowning herself in studies and video games. 

Liam, the guy Olivia met the day of the shooting started hanging around her more. They became fast friends and even gamed and streamed together. He was helping Olivia to fill the void left by Emma's death. Liam was sweet and patient and always there when she needed someone the most. He always seemed to know when something was bothering her and always called her out on her bullshit. 

"Hey, chick I got you some coffee," Liam spoke as he busted into her dorm room one day. Olivia had been studying for midterms and Liam was coming over to help the process and study with her. 

"Great we are going to need it. I still have three chapters to go in this section before I can move to Calc." She already sounded like she had five cups of espresso but Liam handed her the cup regardless. 

"You really should lower your course load. How many classes do you have midterms for?"

"I have five tests to do at the end of the week and then two more next week." 

"You're in seven classes at one time?" He questioned her sanity. "How do you manage?"

"Well, there are seven days in a week. Besides I want to try and graduate early. I'm on track to graduate in 3 years not 4."

"You are being a serious overachiever."

"That's what Emma used to say." She said before realizing what it was she just said. Both stayed quiet for a minute before Liam spoke up.

"Are you doing okay?" HE asked concerned for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just hard not having her here. It's like a whole piece of me is missing. We had been friends for so long. Since kindergarten."

"I know. It's hard. You just have to keep going. She would want you to be happy and succeed in life."

"I just wish her family hadn't shut me out. All I have is pictures and memories."

"It's hard I get it. But you're alive and well. You have to keep going."

Olivia nodded. "Alright, I need to keep studying if I am ever going to pass these tests." She spoke changing the subject. She didn't like how heavy the conversation was getting. 

"You know I'm here for you if you need me?" HE offered sitting down next to her on the bed. He was concerned and you could see it on his face.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you."

Midterms went smoothly which meant the Christmas holidays were coming up. Olivia didn't really like going home for the holidays. Her mom was a Christian and she wasn't. Sure her mom was not biased against her chosen religion but she didn't hide her love of Christmas. Sure Christmas had its roots in Yule but Olivia didn't hide her disdain for all of the bustle of the holiday. And her mom definitely went all out. It was just the two of them. Ever since her dad died when she was little. Her mom had done the best she could under all the circumstances. But Olivia had come out a little different than what her mom hoped she would be. 

Liam was going home to his family for the holidays, Olivia knew she would survive her mom for the three weeks she had off. She could just lock herself in her room and game all day if she wanted. She didn't have to participate if she didn't want to. Her mom wasn't going to force it. Not after the year she had already. 

Olivia went straight to her old room when she got back to the house with her mom. There was a desk already set up and Olivia made quick work hooking up her gaming setup. There was no way she was going to leave the expensive equipment in the dorm that long unsupervised. Her mom knocked on the door before opening it and coming in.

"Is everything okay in here?" SHe asked. Olivia looked over at her mom. It was obvious where Olivia got her red hair from. But that was where the similarities stopped. Her mom was shorter than she was with brown eyes. She also didn't have freckles as Olivia had. 

"Yeah, mom. I'm almost done hooking up my computer then I'm going to unpack my suitcase."

"I still don't understand why you needed your computer for three weeks here."

"Because I need something to entertain myself with and it wouldn't be safe in the dorm that long without me there."

"Do you want to go get holiday shopping done later?"

"No thank you. You should go though. You know I don't do the whole Christmas thing."

"I thought I might take you to that new age store they now have downtown. Maybe you might like to check it out?"

That completely caught Olivia off guard. "Really? You would want to take me to look at crystals and tarot decks and stuff?"

"Maybe I will buy you something for Christmas there."

"Mom I don't..."

"Yeah I know but I do. You have your beliefs and I have mine. I will still get your gifts even if you don't believe in it."

"Fine, give me like twenty minutes and I will be downstairs."

It took more like thirty minutes but Olivia did get everything taken care of and put away before she bounded down the stairs, her wallet in hand. Her mom was in the kitchen, her purse on the counter. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, where to first?"

"Your store first. Then I need to go to the mall, I figure we can grab lunch then grocery store on the way home so you can get some things to eat while home for the holidays."

"You have this all planned out?" 

"You know I have to be thorough."

Olivia nodded and followed her mom out to her older Outback. Olivia hated the idea of a wagon but the car was decent enough and had survived the last ten years of her life. Her mom had done some minor upgrades to it. Notably the touch screen radio and GPS she had installed. 

The shopping wasn't too bad. Olivia ended up with some new crystals, incense, a couple of sage bundles, and a new tarot deck. Her mom had also insisted on a few clothing items at the mall. And she came out of grocery shopping unscathed with all her favorite foods. 

"Mom you should really think about upgrading your car at some point. Maybe something that you won't be afraid of it breaking down?"

"I'm not scared it's going to break down. It's ten years old and has less than 200 thousand miles on it. These cars go on forever."

Yeah but what about a newer model. I heard they were nice."

"I just don't know about a car payment though."

"It might be worth it."

"I don't know. Would you want the old one? That way you have a car?"

"I don't need a car. I got you for that."

"But what if you need to go somewhere and I'm busy."

"But then I have to buy a campus parking pass."

"I'll buy it for you."

"If you insist then." Olivia sighed. She didn't really want the car. IT was definitely a mom-mobile. But her mom was persistent. And she knew she wouldn't give up. 

"Tomorrow we can go to the dealership then. I was actually thinking of going to a sedan. What do you think?"

"It's all you really need really. It's just you now."

"Yeah, maybe I'll do that then." She smiled and walked off to the kitchen to put everything away. Olivia took that as a sign that she could disappear to her room. Her computer was definitely calling her name.


	3. Chapter 3

The holidays seemed to fly by. Olivia was not looking forward to going back to classes after having three weeks to decompress. The Friday before school was set to start, Olivia went back to her dorm room with her new to her car. She was already thinking of ways she could improve it and was even looking up what it would cost to put a better engine in it. Whatever she was going to do was going to cost a good chunk of money. She figured she would just start out small maybe with some new lights on the inside and some embellishments. 

The Saturday before the start of school saw a lot of activity on campus with students coming back for classes. It was also the day Olivia met her new roommate. Everly was more average looking with chestnut brown hair and green eyes. She wasn't as thin as Olivia was but she wasn't large either. She was just average. Easy to miss in a crowd. And she packed light, which was nice. Olivia was worried about a new person coming in and wanting more room but Everly was rather content with just having her bed and a little closet space. Olivia was happy to oblige her request. 

"I have heard the stories. Your old roommate, she was killed that day wasn't she?" Everly asked as she sat on her newly made bed. The comforter was yellow with flowers on it. A stark difference from the deep purple and black of Olivia's bed. 

"Yeah, we had been friends since kindergarten."

"You were with her when it happened?"

"Yeah." Olivia really didn't want to have this conversation. It still hurt thinking about that day. She still had nightmares from it.

"Why not you?" 

Olivia knew the context of the question. SHe didn't want to scare away the new roommate on the first day. "I don't know." She said simply hoping she would drop the conversation. 

Everly was quiet for a few minutes and Olivia went back to her computer as she played with the layout of her stream. "You know I don't want to try to replace her. But it might be easier for us this semester if we were sort of friends. Got along at least." Everly spoke up after a bit.

"I don't hate you." Olivia started. She had to choose her words carefully because she didn't want to hurt this new girl's feelings. "It's just I wasn't ready to share Emma's space with anyone. You seem nice enough, but you can't expect us to be besties from day one. IT's going to take time." Olivia stopped talking for a moment as she looked back at her screen. "As for making the semester easier, I will adhere to the girl code. Need anything and I can get it I will. I don't typically have guys over so you don't have to worry about that. My friend Liam stops in a lot, but you don't have to worry about him we aren't romantic and he is nice enough. I do stream from this computer so you might want to not change clothes in view of the webcam when I'm gaming." She paused once more as she debated on whether to say the next part or not. But she knew the new girl would learn the facts eventually. "Also I am a practicing witch just so you know. I might have incense or candles burning from time to time. It relaxes me."

Everly nodded. It was the most words she had heard from Olivia since coming in and a lot to process. "As long as you don't hex me then I don't see any of it as a problem." The brunette smiled. 

Olivia's phone buzzed and she immediately picked it up. "Speaking of Liam, he is dropping in with coffee. Do you want anything?"

"Pumpkin Spice if they have it. If not then a caramel latte will work." Everly smiled.

Olivia nodded and sent a quick text back to Liam with a chuckle when he responded. "He called you basic by the way. Not a bad thing but he has no filter for his mouth. He is a lot like Emma was, personality-wise." A slight pang of heartache hit her when she said Emma's name. But it passed quickly and Olivia smiled over at Everly. "So for the sake of getting to know each other. What do you do for fun?"

"Oh, I read a good bit. I can't wait to see the library here." She seemed genuinely excited about it. It was kind of cute. 

"The library is okay. They don't have the biggest selection but what they have does the job."

"So should I get a library card for the local library too?"

"I did. And they can get books from any library in the county so you can reserve them and get them sent to the one here in town."

Everly nodded. "Then I guess I'll go do that Monday then."

The door to the room opened and in popped Liam. "Hey ladies I brought coffee." He shut the door with his foot and handed Everly a lidded cup. "One pumpkin spice for the new girl. And one white chocolate mocha for the witchy one." Liam joked as he handed Olivia her drink. It was kind of cute that he had remembered her order from the few times they had gotten coffee together. 

"So what brings you by Liam?" Olivia asked pushing away from her desk and turning to look at him. 

"I have to have a reason for hanging in a girl's dorm?" He asked raising an eyebrow as he sipped his own coffee. 

"So you're using us for street cred. Nice."

"That is not even a thing."

"So then why did you really come by?"

"I came to check up on you after Christmas with your mom. I know it's not your thing so I thought I would see how it went."

"It was okay. She took me to this new age store. She got a new car and gave me her old one. I got some new stuff as gifts from her. I mean, she is trying."

He nodded and sipped his coffee. "And did you get her anything?"

"I mean no not really because I don't like doing the whole gift thing."

"It might have been a nice gesture though. She did give you a car."

Olivia sighed. "I guess you're right. Why do you always have to have good points?"

"Luck? Mad knowledge? Who knows. I'm just awesome I suppose." He looked over at the computer screen. "Redoing your stream? New followers?"

"Yeah, I hit one k. Apparently, people like to watch me play random games."

"Your pretty good at it. I watch every stream." He smiled as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Do you really?"

"Yeah, I open it up in the background when we play to boost your viewer counts."

"You are such a great friend." She smiled and set her coffee down. She didn't know how she got so lucky to find Liam when she obviously needed him the most. He was like the bright star in her dark world helping her get through this really hard time. She appreciated it more than he knew.


End file.
